


Coming From a Friend

by Unicornfoal



Category: TOME: Terrain of Magical Expertise
Genre: 'What If' AU, Episode 10 spoilers, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2014-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-18 23:39:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1447150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unicornfoal/pseuds/Unicornfoal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirb was conflicted on how to approach Alpha and tell him the truth, and ultimately decided he deserved to hear it from a friend instead of an enemy... even if it could end their friendship for good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming From a Friend

**MESSAGE**   
_If you want to finally put the Forbidden Power to rest, then meet me at the tournament stadium tomorrow at 5 in the morning. Come alone. I promise this will finally be dealt with..._  
...once and for all.   
-Z

As Alpha rode the lift to the top level of the stadium, he looked out over the city and prepared himself mentally for the confrontation ahead. As he had told Flamey and Nye down below, he had no idea what it was Zetto wanted with him, but he wouldn't be surprised if there was a fight involved. After all, the last time they met, also in this stadium, the blue-haired stranger had been itching for a good battle. It would be a very symbolic choice of location for a rematch. On the other hand, the message had been about putting the Forbidden Power "to rest", so it was also possible Zetto had a far more altruistic meeting in mind... Alpha wasn't going to count on that, though.   
The lift reached the top floor and the redhead turned to face the doors as they opened onto the stadium seating. As he suspected, he could see another user stood in the arena, facing away from him, and was moving to jump down there until something struck him as off. The user below wasn't dressed in red and black with spiky blue hair; He was wearing various shades of green, and hiding a shock of brown hair under a battered burlap hat. Instead of a robot arm, he had a sheathed katana hanging off his belt.   
Alpha's eyes narrowed in confusion, and he leapt over the stands to land down in the arena in only a single bound. "Kirb!" he cried accusingly as the other user turned to face him. "What are you doing here? Zetto wanted me to come alone, go wait outside with the others before he sees you!"   
Kirbopher closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself, looking sterner and more serious than Alpha had ever seen him. "I'm glad you decided to show," he said, settling for a neutral greeting as he tried to ease into the infodump that was coming up.   
"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Alpha asked, more confused now than angry. "If you were coming, why didn't you reply to us at all?"   
Sighing, Kirb looked away. "I'm afraid it's complicated. I have a lot to tell you today, and against my better judgement, I thought you deserved to hear it from a friend instead of an enemy."   
Alpha frowned. "What are you talking about? Zetto will be here any minute!"   
"No, he won't!" Kirb snapped, causing Alpha to jump in surprise. "Don't you get it, Alpha? _I'm_ Zetto!"   
There was a long pause. Alpha's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "W-what...?"   
"I've been looking for the Forbidden Power for a long time now," Kirb explained, staring sternly across the arena at his friend. "I created Kirbopher as a downtime from that, to get away from it... but then you somehow found it before we could."   
Alpha forced himself to relax out of the attack-ready pose he'd unconsciously adopted. Although he still doubted what Kirb was saying was true, he knew he owed it to his friend to at least listen.   
"Even you must have some inkling of what that... _thing_ really is after all this time," Kirb continued, glaring off to the side as he refused to name the Forbidden Power. "It's an _infection_ , a good-for-nothing _computer virus_ , and it's been using you to make itself stronger over these past few weeks. It can't be erased, but it _can_ be removed, and it _needs_ to be before it gets too strong to contain at all!"   
Shaking his head, Alpha found himself shouting in disbelief, "You're lying! How can I believe that?"   
Kirb just continued to stare. "Would you have believed this coming from Zetto?"   
Before Alpha could reply, he felt a familiar presence welling up in the back of his mind.   
**_don't listen to his lies_**   
Alpha tensed up, looking around fearfully. "Oh no, not again!"   
**_i only wanted to be free_**   
"I'm not hearing this, no!" Alpha cried, tightly holding his hands against his ears even though he knew it had no effect on the voice inside.   
For a moment, Kirb's face echoed Alpha's before again returning to the stern expression it had held since Alpha's arrival. "It's talking to you again, isn't it?" he cried. "Do you see what I mean about it getting stronger yet?" He closed his eyes. "I know what it's like, Alpha. It gets into your head, turns your mind into its personal plaything, makes you feel invincible!"   
Although he wanted dearly to listen to his friend, Alpha was too busy concentrating inwards, holding back the voice in his head.   
**_kill him_**   
"GET OUT!" Alpha shouted.   
Kirb sighed. "It's taken longer than I wanted, but we finally have a means of extracting and containing it..." He held out his left arm, and equipped from his inventory a rough-looking metallic blue robotic mitten over the fingerless hand, glaring determinedly across the arena at the struggling Alpha. "... this time, _for good!_ "   
**_i want him to suffer all over again_**   
Alpha squinted at the odd glove. "What is...? What are you-?" His questions were cut off by his own cries of pain, and he wisely decided to stop talking and keep his attention focused on the force struggling to get out.   
"Do you hear me in there, you monster!?" Kirb shouted. "Recognise me or not, I haven't forgotten you, and I'm gonna make sure you never hurt ANYONE ELSE!"   
**_make him wish he were dead_**   
All at once, Alpha's anger at the Forbidden Power combined with his will to protect his friend, and he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Get out of my HEAD!", just as the virus cloud began to form around his avatar. Alpha was unable to fight off the vengeful AI as it pulled up a battlegrid and merged with the young man's mind.   
As the cloud of static faded away, Kirb watched from across the arena, standing ready for battle, his robotic glove held ready like a catcher's mitt. "HEY!" he shouted, and when the possessed Alpha turned his glowing red eyes on the imp, Kirb smirked humourlessly. "Remember me?"   
Whether it did or not, Kirb couldn't know, but it responded regardless, growling as it leapt across the arena in a single bound. Just as Kirb had planned, it was headed directly for him, and he used his smaller size to dodge underneath and leap up from below, grabbing Alpha's neck with his gloved hand and paralyzing the virus as the in-built programming of the blue mitten slowly began to do its work.   
**0%  
19%**   
Kirb almost smiled as the progress bar popped up, ignoring the awkward position Alpha's avatar was in (almost kneeling as it dangled from his grip, thanks to Kirb's shorter height).   
**28%  
37%**   
"Good," he whispered, unsure if he was talking more to Alpha or himself. "Now just stay calm. It'll be over soon."   
**46%  
55%**   
As the progress bar continued to fill, Kirb began to feel the specially-made glove on his avatar's arm begin to shake.   
**64%  
73%**   
Dismissing any fears that it wouldn't be able to hold up, he stubbornly held it still, whispering "Al... most... there..."   
**82%  
91%   
ERROR**   
Before Kirb had a chance to react, the palm of his glove exploded, throwing Alpha to the ground and forcing Kirb to stumble backwards, his attention focussed on vainly holding the body of the glove together to keep the virus inside from escaping.   
On the floor opposite, Alpha pulled himself into a sitting position, blinking as the glow faded from his eyes, and looked up just as Kirb's grip on the bits of metal strapped to his arm failed, exploding in a cloud of static. As the cloud overtook the imp, Alpha heard him screaming.   
"No! No, no, no, no!" Alpha forced his avatar to its feet and threw himself across the arena. Without the time to think, he defaulted to his most-used attack when sparring with Kirb, and charged up a Vulcan Fist attack, landing it squarely on Kirb's chest. Time seemed to slow down as the fiery punch landed, knocking the pale imp back and forcing him into a hunched over position. The static cloud slowly faded, and Alpha stood, fist still outstretched, waiting for a sign of what to do next.   
Kirb's head shot up, eyes wide and glowing red, and he growled at Alpha.   
"Oh, sh-"   
With unearthly speed, Virus-Kirbopher jumped forward with a roar, tossing Alpha across the arena with a slash across the middle. Much like Alpha when he was being controlled by the Forbidden Power, Kirb's colours were all darker, and his mitten-hands had strangely split into three-clawed paws, the left one with bits of metal from the glove still attached to it. His left sleeve was ripped to shreds from the explosion, bits of the fabric dangling around his elbow, and his teeth had become pointed, similar to Zetto and Rockoon's.   
Alpha pulled himself to his feet and just barely dodged a follow-up slash from the roaring Kirbopher. 'I have to signal Flamey and Nye!' Alpha thought, and as he did his best to side-step and counter Kirb's out-of-control slashes, he wondered how it was going to be possible to do so... and was then interrupted as Kirb again threw him across the arena with a lightning-fast headbutt.

* * *

Flamegirl and Nylocke stood worriedly on the path outside the main stadium. Occasionally one of them would pace a few steps before stopping themselves, but otherwise the two stood still, casting concerned glances up at the stadium as they awaited news of what was happening inside. Neither dared to break the silence that had fallen upon them once Alpha left.   
Suddenly, a distant roar from the stadium caught the pair's attention, and they looked up as one to see the distinctive dustcloud of an explosion erupting from above the arena.   
"Looks like a signal to me!" Flamey cried.   
"Indeed," Nye agreed.   
Flamey began a dash towards the stadium entrance. "Let's go!" she ordered. Nye wasn't far behind her.

* * *

Through the air above the stadium, two figures soared back and forth, slamming into each other before separating again, like a pair of pinballs, slowly climbing higher. Finally, they hit each other and seemed to stick, fists outstretched. Out of Kirb's right wrist sprouted a thin blade made of virus-static, curving around his fist and into the back of Alpha's hand. The redhead couldn't prevent a cry of pain as he instinctively pulled his hand away from the source of the pain, giving his speedy opponent plenty of time to pounce on Alpha, kicking him down into the arena at full speed.   
Alpha lay in the newly formed crater, slightly confused as to what had just happened, and pulled himself into a sitting position as he struggled to shrug off the pain and continue the fight. Kirb was slowly floating back down to earth, and Alpha found the strange static-blade on his arm naggingly familiar, but had no time to ponder as to why.   
" **Kill...** " Kirb growled menacingly. In the possessed user's head, where Alpha couldn't see, a battle was raging as to which of the two consciousnesses had control.   
Frowning, Alpha got to his feet, failing to hide just how exhausted he was already. This was probably the one and only chance he'd get to confront the _thing_ that had haunted him for so long. "I think I finally understand you. Your entire existence is meant for hurting others, and I was just your tool for doing it."   
Kirb's floating figure landed back on the arena floor, hunched over and claws hanging by his sides almost like a marionette.   
"That's the only reason you ever bothered with me," Alpha continued. "I was just too stupid to figure it out..."   
" **Kill...** " Kirb growled again.   
Alpha's hands balled into fists. "Well, I don't need you," he announced, his voice gaining strength. "I never needed you! Now GET OUT OF MY FRIEND!"   
Kirb's eyes snapped open, and he suddenly dashed in Alpha's direction, roaring loudly. The redhead barely avoided with a somersault, twisting in the air to throw a multitude of Orion Shields that Kirb destroyed with a few simple strikes of his static-blade. By the time Alpha had landed back on the arena floor, he had come to the conclusion that Kirb hadn't been lying about his alter-ego. He didn't get a chance to think about it however, as the moment he landed, Kirb was on him again with the arm-blade, hitting him again and again with nasal grunts before knocking him back with a punch from his other hand. Spotting his chance, Alpha pulled up his Orion Shield until the flurry of punches came to an end, then threw up his foot to kick Kirb upside the head, knocking him back a fair distance and instantly dissipating the arm-blade.   
Kirb again screamed loudly, the virus cloud flaring up around him. Alpha, panting in exhaustion, dropped to his knees, staring across at his friend and finding it hard not to lose hope. Kirb managed to meet his gaze, and the red in his eyes left long enough for him to wheeze, " **Kill...** _me...!_ "

* * *

Up on the top level of the stadium seats, Flamegirl and Nylocke emerged from the lift and darted out, looking around frantically. "Where is he?" Flamey cried.   
"Down there!" Nye responded, pointing to the figures down in the arena. Waiting not even a moment, the pair jumped down the levels of seating and attempted to join their friend, but were thrown back at the last second by a grid wall surrounding the arena itself.   
Flamey groaned. "One of them set up a grid! We can't get in until-" She interrupted herself, spotting something unusual through the moving lines of black. "Is that... Kirb in there?"   
Peering in himself, Nye's eyes widened in surprise. "I believe it is. Regardless, we still need to get inside."   
"Oh, yeah, right," Flamey agreed, shaking her head to force herself to focus. "But we can't do that until the game thinks the fight is over!"   
Nye looked through the grid at the two friends of his inside, stood opposite each other. "One of them has to lose," he muttered. "But at what cost?"   
Flamey frowned, glancing between Alpha and the possessed Kirb until she came to a decision. "Alpha!" she shouted, her hands around her mouth even though it likely did nothing to help her volume in the virtual world.   
Inside the battlegrid, Alpha suddenly stood up straighter, looking surprised, and quickly turned to find where they were.   
"Throw the match!"   
Alpha nodded to Flamey outside the grid. That made sense. It would hurt, but with Flamey's help, they might be able to return Kirb to normal and _finally, actually_ put the Forbidden Power to rest. Taking a deep breath, the redhead turned to face the growling imp opposite. 'This'll hurt me a lot more than it hurts you,' he thought to himself, then he charged at his friend with a yell. Moving impossibly fast, Kirb reformed the arm-blade and whacked Alpha across the chest, sending him spinning backwards to land on his front by the crater in the ground. Alpha struggled not to lose consciousness, not noticing the battlegrid around them fading away and only barely aware of Kirb grabbing him by the neck and holding him high.   
**93%  
97%**   
Flamey and Nye, crouched on the lowest level of the stadium seating, watched curiously. Shooting a glance at each other, they mutually decided to wait until the loading bar above Kirb's clawed hand reached its maximum before acting.   
In Kirb's head, the virus itself fought for complete control.   
**_what are you_   
100%**   
"Here we go!" cried Flamey, leaping into the arena and bodily dragging Kirb away from Alpha, who fell to the floor unconscious. She hugged her friend from behind as her purple flames burned around them, but it seemed to do little more than cause Kirb to shake violently, still screaming as the virus cloud attempted to flare up around him. "It's not working!" she called to Nye.   
Nye frowned. There was only one way out of this as far as he could see. "Lady Flamegirl," he ordered, "stand back!" Before she could question him, he pulled Kirb out of her grasp and immediately stabbed his sword, complete with Drain Edge attached, through their friend's middle, draining the dark colouration from his character before the imp slid backwards and fell on the ground, seemingly knocked out cold.   
Assured the problem was taken care of, Flamey ran to Alpha's side, calling for him to wake up. Nye remained standing over Kirb, glaring at his sword and removing the Drain Edge with a sharp tug. "This has gone on for long enough!" he proclaimed. "The accursed power stored within has truly been the root of all our worst conflicts. It must be removed from the picture!" He held back the item, readying himself to hurl it into the sky. "Forever!"   
"No...!" came a cry from below, and Nye looked down to see that Kirb was (just barely) awake, lifting an arm up in a feeble attempt to stop him. "Don't...!"   
Nye cast a worried glance at the purple blade containing the Forbidden Power, then sighed and moved his arm down to show he'd changed his mind about throwing it. "Alright, Squire," he said in a low voice, kneeling down by the imp's side, "but in return I want to hear the reason why the moment you return to full health."   
With help from Nylocke, Kirb managed to pull himself into a sitting position. "I'll gladly tell you right now," he replied, trying not to sound as pained as he felt. "I have a safe place I can take it. It won't get out from there, I swear."   
Nye narrowed his eyes suspiciously for only a moment before sighing. "I suppose that would be a safer option," he conceded, and handed over the Drain Edge for Kirb to put in his inventory.   
Nearby, Alpha was also waking up, to a frantic Flamey's relief. "Did we win?" he asked her breathily, and she smiled as she looked over to Kirb and Nye, who looked back at her, Nye smiling in triumph.   
"Technically you lost the battle," she laughed, "but I think we finally won the war!"   
"Is Kirb...?"   
"I've been better," Kirb piped up, still hoarse from the screaming and not as loud as he would have liked. "Now shut up and get some rest."   
Flamey rolled her eyes. Alpha pushed himself up to a sitting position, groaning in pain and ignoring Flamey's cries to take it easy. Once he and Kirb were able to see each other face-to-face, Alpha shot his friend a smile. After a moment of surprise, Kirb returned it.   
Nye jumped to his feet, holding his sword high. "Victory is firmly within our grasp, my comrades!" The other three looked up at him curiously. "I declare us the unofficial _true_ winners of the Gemini Tournament, for we are not merely the Yin and Yang of virtual combat, _nay_ , I say we are the most heroic and dignified protectors of the Terrain of Magical Expertise!" He put his sword away with a flash of light and held his arms out wide with a grin. "The heavens themselves may as well open up with a chorus of angels to sing of our valiant achievements!" There was a long pause as absolutely nothing happened. "A-any day now," Nye added, then shrugged with a smile. "Well, I tried."   
Flamey and Alpha shot each other smirks of amusement, while Kirb just shook his head. "Thanks for that, Nye," he sarcastically remarked.   
"That reminds me," Flamey said, turning to Kirb with a frown, "what the hell were you doing here, Kirb? Alpha came here to fight Zetto, and you never responded to us when we asked if you'd help! What happened?"  
Kirb sat in silence for a few moments, staring at Flamey blankly. "Um."  
Alpha chuckled. "It turns out Kirb's been keeping a little secret from us," he explained.  
"N-no, I haven't!" Kirb sputtered, shaking his head.   
Nye smiled. "Oh really, Squire? It wouldn't have anything to do with a blue-haired alternate character of yours called 'Zetto', would it?"   
"NO, IT WOULDN'T."   
"You already knew?" Alpha asked Nye in surprise.   
"Worked it out myself during the tournament," Nylocke explained with a sly grin.   
Kirb threw his hands into the air with an exasperated groan. "OH, COME ON!"   
Flamey tapped her chin in thought. "But how can Kirb be Zetto?" she asked. "They fought each other in the tournament."   
Rolling his eyes, Kirb asked, "Honestly, have you never heard of multiboxing?" He then blinked, eyes wide, and shook his head. "I mean, EXACTLY. WHAT SHE SAID."   
"Huh," Flamey said with a shrug. "I guess that makes sense then."   
"WHY ARE YOU OKAY WITH THIS?"   
Alpha pulled himself to his feet. "I think it's time we get out of the stadium. It's supposed to be closed off to the public, after all."   
"Good point, Sir Alpha," Nye agreed, Flamey and Kirb also standing up. "Perhaps we can accompany the Squire as he transports the Forbidden Power to his stronghold?"   
Kirb blinked in surprise. " _'Stronghold'?_ " He shook his head with a groan, then started walking towards the arena exit. "Alright, fine, if you insist."   
As the other three followed the imp out of the stadium, Flamey turned to Alpha and whispered, "Remind me later to punch him for keeping such a big secret from us."   
"Let him explain his reasons first!" Alpha replied with a giggle.

* * *

On the street outside, three of the four friends were surprised to find Gamecrazed standing on the pavement, waiting for them. He looked over them all, then turned to Kirb. "You told them," he said.   
"You knew too!?" Alpha cried.   
Kirb gave an exasperated sigh. "We're gonna have a lot of explaining to do..."


End file.
